Sentsov's lawyer speaks out

Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov’s lawyer Dmitriy Dynze has given details of how the treatment being meted out to the ethnic Russian by the FSB security service at the Lefortovo prison near Moscow.

In a Skype video lasting over eight minutes shown at Wednesday’s press conference for the Odessa International Film Festival in Kiev, Russia-based Dynze spoke about the “harsh regime” of Sentsov’s incarceration in isolation at the Lefortovo prison, the possible development of the situation, the “information war” being waged by the FSB’s press department and the “physical and psychological pressure” on Sentsov.

“Oleg can’t use his cell phone or do any calls, there is no possibility for him to send any messages even to his lawyers,” Dynze said. “All written messages have to go through the special department and to be checked.”

“I can’t predict any results, this is not how I work, but I want to make the best I can to release Oleg but, taking in consideration the attempts of FSB to politicise the case and to promote it, I would want to at least soften the charges,” he continued.

“We’re trying to do the best we can to bring the attention of everybody - mass media, political leaders, cultural leaders etc. I think that everything, absolutely everything will help Oleg, but, so far, I can see that FSB is pushing their idea of terroristic activity of the Right Sector.”

“The information war is going on. Once we do something, they reply with double power,” explained Dynze. “We don’t know when the trial will take place, it may take up to one and a half years, sometimes even two-three years. Oleg was crually beaten, threatened with being raped, but he didn’t confess. I composed an appeal of transfering Oleg to another prison, since it is not safe for Oleg to be kept in Lefortovo controlled by FSB.”

The video can be viewed on the festival’s Facebook site – https://www.facebook.com/odessaiff. While ‘likes’ are considered “not appropriate” in this case, visitors are encouraged to share the link as “our victory in the information war directly depends on this”.

In another sign of solidarity for the campaign to have Sentsov released, the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 showed his 2011 debut Gamer in a special screening at 00:10 on Tuesday [June 10] morning.

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